Question: Trash and litter are problems. We have trash being put out on Friday or Saturday for Monday morning collection. Over the weekend, the bags get torn, rained on or fall over -- trash spreads over the sidewalk and into the street. Most of the trash seems to come from apartment renters. I've reported instances on the 311 app (with photos), but since the trash is out over a weekend, do city inspectors ever see the problem? Sanitation and Center City Dist. workers do a great job cleaning, but what can be done to make sure that city regulations are enforced, that landlords provide adequate rash storage on premises and that violators and landlords are fined if trash is put out unlawfully?

Answer: Thank you to CCRA for this opportunity to respond to your members. This month's question pertains to litter and cleanliness. To better respond to this challenge, the Kenney Administration is launching a multi-departmental task force to improve enforcement and response to litter, short dumping, and recycling to support cleaner public spaces and diverting waste from landfills to recycling. You will hear more updates in the months ahead. I hope that once the task force's action plan and recommendations are implemented, issues such as those below will no longer be major concerns for our neighbors.

Trash/recycling should not be set out before 5 p.m., Oct. 1-Mar. 31, or 7 p.m., Apr. 1-Sept. 30) the night before collection. The Streets Department SWEEP Unit (Streets & Walkways, Education & Enforcement Program) enforces the law through intensive street patrols by uniformed, trained enforcement officers. SWEEP officers frequently meet with concerned residents, businesses, and apartment building owners/tenants to address problem locations, educate residents, and issue code violation notices to hold violators accountable. SWEEP is happy to meet with residents to develop a strategy to address the early set-outs in this area- you can contact SWEEP at 215-685-4275.

Additionally, in most of Center City, Streets provides nightly mechanical street sweeping and also services the Big Belly Solar Powered Compactors. Streets works closely with community organizations to coordinate cleaning efforts to maximize effectiveness, meeting frequently with organizations like CCRA to address trash, litter and quality of life concerns. Streets has several programs to help CCRA improve the conditions in the Center City area, including SWEEP, the Streets Department Citywide Cleaning Unit, and the Philadelphia More Beautiful Committee (PMBC) and provide additional resources to keep the city clean.

- Michael DiBerardinis, Managing Director.

The following area businesses help makeCCRA programs and activities possible with their financial and other support: